UCO Hosts, Awarded Regents Business Partnership Excellence Awards
June 26, 2025
The University of Central Oklahoma hosted higher education leaders, educators and business members from across the state at the Regents Business Partnership Excellence Awards Ceremony.
The annual ceremony highlights successful partnerships between business and community partners. Institutions involved in these partnerships provide $500 in financial support and receive a matching $500 State Regents’ Economic Development Grant.
In total, 27 partnerships were recognized during the 2025 ceremony.
UCO’s College of Business, the UCO W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute (FSI) and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) were honored for their OSBI Career Day, held in April 2024, where UCO students, alumni and the public interacted with members of the OSBI Criminalistics, Investigative, Information/IT Services and Support Services divisions to learn about careers in their respective areas. The event showcased exciting careers within the OSBI while supporting workforce development and addressing critical occupation needs in Oklahoma.
“The FSI considers OSBI one of the Institute’s most valuable partners and supporters. OSBI supports the FSI by providing adjunct professors, lab space, shared equipment, internships and career opportunities for UCO students,” said John Mabry, J.D., director of UCO’s FSI.
“Our recent ranking as the top forensic program in the country is in no small part due to the outstanding relationships the FSI enjoys with community law enforcement partners such as the OSBI and other community stakeholders.”
The Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education (OSRHE) Economic Development Council is a statewide group that analyzes and articulates the economic role of Oklahoma's public colleges and universities—the group partners with statewide business entities and governances to enhance the state's economic development.
For more information on the UCO College of Business, visit www.uco.edu/cob/.
For more information on UCO FSI, visit www.uco.edu/fsi/.
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Cutline: The University of Central Oklahoma hosted higher education leaders, educators and business members from across the state at the Regents Business Partnership Excellence Awards Ceremony, May 6. Pictured left to right, Dennis Casey, chair of OSRHE; Sean Burrage, OSRHE chancellor; UCO President Todd G. Lamb; Steven Carter, OSBI Deputy Director; Niccole Miller, Ph.D., senior director of strategic initiatives for student success in the UCO College of Business; Janice Joslin, director of the OSBI Forensic Science Center; John Mabry, J.D., director of UCO’s FSI; and, Steven Taylor, OSRHE secretary.
